I hope the 'old hands' here will bear with me in this, but we still seem
to be falling into the trap of mixing up image resolution and printer
resolution ie the difference between pixels and dots. I have always
worked on the basis that if I look after the pixels then, provided I
select the correct paper/printer resolution for the job then the dots
will look after themselves. As far as image resolution is concerned I
regularly print at 200ppi on various epson printers with excellent
results ans also send a significant amount of work out to a Lightjet
5000 at 152.5ppi for larger display panels. High quality offset printers
usually ask for 300ppi. All these resolutions are image pixels per inch
at print size ie actual pixel data 'a la Photoshop'. 
The printer drivers job is to translate the image pixels into ink dots
on the paper and I freely admit to not completely understanding the
transition, but several dots will invariably be required for each pixel
as the visual blending of the different coloured ink dots creates the
image colour and detail. 
In general, the epson printers seem to offer printing resolutions
relative to paper type, the lower resolutions are available for low
quality/plain papers and the higher resolutions for gloss/photographic
qualities. 
I have rarely found any epson printer give good photographic quality
below 1440dpi with the exception of the 1160 using heavyweight art paper
and pigment ink when I sometimes get away with 720dpi. I am now talking
about printer resolution in dots per inch.
On a personal hobby horse, isnt it time we got away from the continuing
misuse of ppi and dpi? The scanner manufacturers particularly create
confusion by persisting in describing their product resolutions as dpi
when they should say ppi.

Tony Riley (the surrey one)
ar-at-arimage.com

>>>>>>John Begg wrote:
All this talk of printing resolution is all very well. However, using
the Epson 2100 choice is severely limited. Going to
Print>Properties>Advanced, gives only five different paper options
(Matt, Semi gloss etc), having made your selection, the sw gives even
less choice when it comes to choosing a printing resolution. The Gloss
can be printed at 720, 1440 or 2880. The premium semi gloss can only be
printed at 1440 or 2880. It is only when you select plain paper that 360
becomes an option Am I missing something, or does anyone know a way
around this as I certainly do not always want to print at high
resolutions? (NB I am using Win 2K. The Mac options maybe better?) On my
old Epson 1200 there was far greater flexibility <<<<<<<

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